I don't know if this is the same problem I've seen, but I suspect it is,
just manifesting differently on my machine (CADzilla, dual PIII-1GHz, W2K
SP2, 512MB RAM, Matrox G450, 99SE SP6)
During the loading of 99SE, if I switch the focus away from Protel, I get an
error message something like 'exception: the memory at XXXX:XXXXXXXX could
not be "read" '. The Protel session starts up, but everything I try to do
with it causes another error message.
99SE rules of thumb:
1) When 99SE is loading, DO NOT switch the focus away from it
2) If you are thinking of switching the focus during loading, see rule #1
Best regards,
Ivan Baggett
Bagotronix Inc.
website: www.bagotronix.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "JaMi Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Protel EDA Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 4:20 AM
Subject: [PEDA] Bizzare and Repeatable
> I'm running P99SE SP6 on an IBM NetVista 6648 with a Pentium III 866 with
> 128M of memory (yes I know I need more), and W2K PRO SP2, and Office 2K
PRO
> SP2, Internet Explorer 5.5, all recently installed from Scratch.
>
> I have a Logitech Mouse and Mouseware, and an external Parallel Port CD
Rom
> R/W. The only other software on the machine is: Adobe Acrobat Reader 5,
Real
> One Player, PowerDesk 4 Pro from Ontrack, and Norton Antivirus which came
> with the machine from IBM, and CAMtastic.
>
> In have had the machine for about 10 months, and never had any failure or
> problems of any kind with it. I recently aquired the External CD R/W, and
> after installing it, I completely reloaded everything from the IBM / Win2K
> Restoration Partition on the 20 Gig Hard Drive..
>
> I had been working on a Protel Project which has 2 small libraries (40
parts
> in one and 6 in the other), 2 small PCB's which are both barely started,
and
> a couple of OrcAD 7.20 Netlists, all in the same DDB, and all open.
>
> I open and close the Protel Database several times from the Desktop
> Shortcut, and after saving all files, close it with the big X, without
> closing individual files first.
>
> I have been working on the thing for over a week, open, close, up, down,
> etc., with no problems.
>
> Somehow I have gotten a little problem with my OrCAD 7.20 Netlist and one
> page of the schematic is getting corrupted, and generating a bogus
Netlist,
> or maybe Protel is messing them up on the import.
>
> By the way, the OrCad is on another machine, and I import the netlist
across
> the network.
>
> I had rebooted both machines, several times, and I had just generated a
new
> netlist on the other machine, and the problem with the netlist is not the
> problem that I am concerned with here (although if anyone is an expert on
> OrCAD netlist problems I'll accept any suggestions about that). The
netlist
> problem simply led up to the Protel Problem I will now describe.
>
> I go to the IBM, and launch Protel from the shortcut. It normally takes
> about 15 seconds to load all of the files.
>
> This time, however, rather than wait for Protel to load, I hit the
> "minimize" button while it still has its little Protel "Logo Box" in the
> center of the screen, and is starting to load files, and it dissappears
into
> the taskbar, so I can launch PowerDesk (or Explorer, or something else) so
> that I can go directly to the other system and copy the netlist to the
local
> drive before importing (to eliminate anything that may be be happening
> because of the "import" across the network).
>
> After double clicking the Powerdesk shortcut, while it is launching, I go
> back to the Taskbar and hit Protel to enlarge it again.
>
> The Protel "Ghost Screen", as I call it, appears on the screen, which
> consists of the Protel "title bar" (banner) across the top of the screen,
> with an empty gray "menu bar" (no text (File, Edit, etc)), and an empty
gray
> bar at the bottom of the screen, but with no Protel in the middle of the
> screen - just a hole - sometimes you can see what was there before, and
> sometimes it is just gray background.
>
> I have become very familiar over the last year with this Protel "Ghost
> Screen", as it appears to be the Protel equivilent of what the "Blue
Screen
> of Death" is to Microsoft.
>
> Anyway, on numerous occasions during the past year when Protel has gone
> south for the winter, it has left this "Ghost Screen" behind, and simply
> crashed out of Protel, but not crashed the system (other than trashing the
> graphics of the Desktop). The other common form of Protel crash that I am
> also very familiar with is the one where the system simply locks up, where
> occasionally, if you can do a CntlAltDel, you might be lucky enough to get
> to the Task Manager and recover, but most of the time you simply have to
do
> a "hard reset" or "power down".
>
> Anyway, all that is a preface to this.
>
> This time, in the middle of the "Ghost Screen", something I have never
seen
> before, the little Protel "Logo Box" in the center of thescreen.
>
> Protel has crashed, and is no longer running, and I have the "Ghost
Screen"
> and Logo Box" on top of everything.
>
> Windows is still running, albeit with a trashed screen, but I can still
> launch other programs, or maxamize PowerDesk, etc., but just with the
"Ghost
> Screen" behind it.
>
> Needless to say the graphics are trashed and at the very least unstable,
so
> I decide to reboot the machine.
>
> Once I reboot, I try numerous times to replicate the problem, but only got
> it to go south and give up the "Ghost Screen", one other time, but the one
> thing that is consistant is that every single time I try to repeat the
> problem, I DO get a PERMANANT "Logo Box" in the middle of the screen in
> Protel!
>
> Thats right, a permanant "Logo Box", right on top of everything, and a
> "normal (?)" Protel session running underneath it.
>
> Protel seems to be running just fine, but the "Logo Box" is right on top
in
> the center of everything, and will NOT go away unless and until you shut
> down Protel.
>
> You seem to be able to do any normal functions in Protel, just so long as
> you can get to the screen around the perimeter of the permanant "Logo
Box".
>
> I eliminated diddling around with any other programs, and got the problem
> down to the simplest form where it is 100 percent consistant and
repeatable
> on my system.
>
> I launch Protel from the Desktop shortcut (with or without having unclosed
> files from the previous session), and as soon as it fills the screen I hit
> the "minimize" ("-") button, which causes the Protel to "shrink" to the
> "Taskbar", and then I simply wait for it to finish loading. Then I hit
> Protel on the "Taskbar" to "maxamize" it again, and it reappears , but it
> now still has the "Logo Box" in the middle of the screen, with an
otherwise
> apparently normal Protel rinning behind it.
>
> OK, so I understand that this a fluke caused by my messing around and
> "minimizing" and "maxamizing" Protel at the wrong time.
>
> Well, number one, it is abnormal, and number two, it is repeatable and
> consistant on my machine.
>
> It is bizzare behaviour that is directly asscociated with an occasional
> crash.
>
> It may be repeatable on other systems.
>
> I bring this up because the by virture of the fact that it is abnormal and
> also repeatable, it may be a possible key for understanding the other
> remaining causes of system crashes that are still happening in Protel 99
SE.
> This may just be something that will allow some of these problems to get
> tracked down and resolved.
>
> I guess I would also wonder if it is repeatable in DXP.
>
> I also bring this up because I believe that there are many people out
there
> that either have not upgraded to DXP, or do not plan to upgrade to DXP.
>
> Protel 99 SE appears to have a pretty broad user base out there which
> appears to want to continue to use the "product" that they purchased,
Protel
> 99 SE, and would appreciate it if Protel would fix the system crashes,
> especially since many of those users have complained about the crashes
since
> they bought Protel 99 SE, already at SP5 or SP6, and some of which have
not
> even had it a year yet, and yet they will not be getting a free upgrade to
> DXP, since they bought it (Protel 99 SE) just before October 1, 2001.
>
> I for one happen to have the full release version of DXP, sitting in a box
> right next to me, and it is going to remain sitting in it's box for quite
> some time, since I have no immediate plans to for it's installation.
>
> I think that it needs a little time to "mature" (like a good wine), maybe
> just a service pack or two, and I will need a little time to learn how to
> become proficient at it.
>
> But for now, I have work to do, and the only thing that I can rely on
right
> now that is somewhat consistant and somewhat productive is Protel 99 SE.
>
> I would be interested in whether or not this can be repeated with any
> consistancy on other machines.
>
> I have a hunch that the slower the machine, the more chance of
> repeatability, and I would believe that it may not occur on a fast system,
> since I believe that you have to hit the "minimaze" button and "shrink"
> Protel into the "Taskbar" before the "Logo Box" dissappears.
>
> Anyway, if this repratable, then maybe we need to tag it with that nasty
> little "b" word and pass it on to Protel.
>
> (Speaking of that nasty little "b" word, it seems to be batted around
quite
> freely, and also quite often, in the Official Altium Monitored DXP Forum .
.
> .)
>
> Speaking of the Official Altium Monitored DXP Forum, have you ever seen so
> many "Managers" from any one single company in any one single place
before?
>
> JaMi Smith
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